Shama: Five Coaches Who Deserve Final Interviews at U

Donate To GopherHole

Like most of those names expect skip holtz as candidates to interview, not sure how I feel about one of them being the guy.
 

Replace Skip Holtz with Mike Leach and you've got a very nice list there. Just the thought of Sid knobslobbering over his close personal friend Lou's kid is enough to make me barf. Mullen hasn't gotten much discussion, but its an intriguing thought. I think Maturi has to go for more experience, though. As someone else wrote the other day, when it comes to candidates like that, Joel should have rolled them bones the last time around.

Another good article by Shama. One quibble: If you're going to make fun of Temple athletics, fine, but do give them their due for a solid basketball program under Cheaney (sp?)
 

The Dan Mullen (Miss. St.) mention is very interesting. Hadn't really thought of him before.
 

Both Bernie Bierman and Murray Warmath coached at Mississippi State. Would Dan Mullen be interested?
 


Mullen would be interesting, though I question if he'd leave Miss State to come here. The programs are relatively similar in standing within their respective conferences. I first thought of him as an SEC guy (with the ties to Florida) but he's from the Northeast originally and has experience all around the country, including ND, Syracuse, Bowling Green, and Utah (the latter two with Urban Meyer). Heck of a recruiter too.

The one thing that could sway him is if the administration isn't willing to pony up the dough on an extension; he's on a contract worth $1.2 million/year through (I think) 2013. We come knocking with $2-$2.5 million a year for 5 years .. I think we'd have a chance to talk. He'll probably be a hot name for a lot of big jobs though, especially if the Bulldogs' dream season continues.
 

Can someone explain the Mike Leach love on this site? The guy seems to be a flake and is as non-BIg 10 as Rich Rodriguez. Even assuming DickRod turns it around at Michigan, can Minnesota afford that learning curve, especially without the built-in assets of a Michigan?
 

Leach wins, generally big, graduates players and has name-recognition. He may be a bit wacky around the edges but I'd love to see him give Macturi indigestion for the next two years and stick it to becky and the pigeyes as well. That being said, I don't think he'll get a sniff in politically-correct Minny.
 

Best list I have seen, I don't want anyone who does not coach strong defense.
 



corcoran1 said:
Best list I have seen, I don't want anyone who does not coach strong defense.
Click to expand...

Best list you have seen? No way. I want nothing, zero, nada to do with Skip Holtz. Please take him off the list, then we have a start. Skip Holtz has done nothing. His dad is the biggest fraud in college football the last 30 years. NO NO NO to any member of the Holtz Family.

If we assume Petersen, Patterson and Harbaugh are off the board, then the 5 should look like this.

Golden, Sumlin, Calhoun, Leach & Fulmer.
 

Totally agree Gopher07. I hadn't heard Dan Mullen's name come up before but he has done a great job at Mississippi State and runs a system on both sides of the ball that I believe could win in the Big Ten.
 

Stan The Caddy said:
Best list you have seen? No way. I want nothing, zero, nada to do with Skip Holtz. Please take him off the list, then we have a start. Skip Holtz has done nothing. His dad is the biggest fraud in college football the last 30 years. NO NO NO to any member of the Holtz Family.

If we assume Petersen, Patterson and Harbaugh are off the board, then the 5 should look like this.

Golden, Sumlin, Calhoun, Leach & Fulmer.
Click to expand...

Any list that has Fulmer should have Belotti IMO.
 

TAW said:
Can someone explain the Mike Leach love on this site? The guy seems to be a flake and is as non-BIg 10 as Rich Rodriguez. Even assuming DickRod turns it around at Michigan, can Minnesota afford that learning curve, especially without the built-in assets of a Michigan?
Click to expand...

Because he wins. And he graduates players and runs a clean program. And badger fans and IA fans are terrified of him and his offense.
 



strokemonster said:
Leach wins, generally big, graduates players and has name-recognition. He may be a bit wacky around the edges but I'd love to see him give Macturi indigestion for the next two years and stick it to becky and the pigeyes as well. That being said, I don't think he'll get a sniff in politically-correct Minny.
Click to expand...

If Michele Bachmann can get elected in this state...then Mike Leach can be the football coach...IMO.
 

If it was only up to the 6th congressional district, although it would require expanding government to do so they would probably vote against it.
 


GoAUpher said:
Any list that has Fulmer should have Belotti IMO.
Click to expand...

I stated I was going to list 5. I thought about lumping Fulmer and Belotti into one candidate, but that would be 6, so I went with Fulmer as my choice between the two. If it came down to the two of them, I think Fulmer is a better fit, might be more hungy (he was forced out, whereas Belotti left coaching on his own term) and has a better resume.
 

Gopher07 said:
Mullen would be interesting, though I question if he'd leave Miss State to come here. The programs are relatively similar in standing within their respective conferences. I first thought of him as an SEC guy (with the ties to Florida) but he's from the Northeast originally and has experience all around the country, including ND, Syracuse, Bowling Green, and Utah (the latter two with Urban Meyer). Heck of a recruiter too.

The one thing that could sway him is if the administration isn't willing to pony up the dough on an extension; he's on a contract worth $1.2 million/year through (I think) 2013. We come knocking with $2-$2.5 million a year for 5 years .. I think we'd have a chance to talk. He'll probably be a hot name for a lot of big jobs though, especially if the Bulldogs' dream season continues.
Click to expand...

I don't take anything away from what Mullen has done, but give him credit for being Urban Meyer's OC with caution. UNLV hired Mike Sanford (Meyer's Utah OC), and the guy was a complete dud.
 

denguegopher said:
I don't take anything away from what Mullen has done, but give him credit for being Urban Meyer's OC with caution. UNLV hired Mike Sanford (Meyer's Utah OC), and the guy was a complete dud.
Click to expand...

I thought Mullen was his Utah OC? Corrected he was the AB coach.

At least Mullen is part of the New Hampshire Mafia!
 

ruralgopher said:
Because he wins. And he graduates players and runs a clean program. And badger fans and IA fans are terrified of him and his offense.
Click to expand...

Can't speak for Iowa, but this Badger fan would be as "terrified" of Leach and his offense as we were/are of a) Tim Brewster and his recruiting prowess; and b) Rich Rodriguez and his conditioning secrets and offense. However, if by "terrified" you mean not penciling in an automatic W, then you could be right. You have to adjust to whatever the other team uses, but if your team is soundly coached, you aren't "terrified" of any team, while admitting that each team presents different challenges.
 

TAW said:
Can't speak for Iowa, but this Badger fan would be as "terrified" of Leach and his offense as we were/are of a) Tim Brewster and his recruiting prowess; and b) Rich Rodriguez and his conditioning secrets and offense. However, if by "terrified" you mean not penciling in an automatic W, then you could be right. You have to adjust to whatever the other team uses, but if your team is soundly coached, you aren't "terrified" of any team, while admitting that each team presents different challenges.
Click to expand...

I think it is a very vocal minority that really wants Leach. Much of what a Leach hire has to offer would be interesting only in the short-term (much the way the Randy Moss trade was). I think many of the Leach-supporters are motivated by the potential hype. I also think these people see a lot of potential in establishing an identity that is very different than Wisconsin, Iowa and Nebraska. Leach's offense should be a sort of pain-in-the-ass for Big Ten teams to prepare for. Which is really not all that different than Purdue under Joe Tiller. He got them to the Rose Bowl before his offense became old-hat for the Big Ten's "soundly coached" teams.

Others of us see Mike Bellotti as better fit. He would be here with retirement in mind, and work to build a staff and program he could be proud of as he retires. And he seems like a good leader for the program during the Prez and AD transition. I think candidates like Fullmer and Edsall are extensions of this hiring philosophy.

To me and others, Leach is a 2nd or 3rd-tier candidate that comes with a lot of risk. He may be worth that risk, but only after others say "no" for the same $. You have to admit, it would be fun to have Leach in the Big Ten.
 

I think Mullen sounds like an interesting option. Fulmer's risky not only because of his age, but I don't know how much of his success was due to the environment at TN. Look at Spurrier. He has not been able to replicate anything approaching what he had at Florida since he got to SC. His boys did beat Alabama, but then turned around and lost to Kentucky. Mullen has enough of a resume that he's somewhat of a known commodity but is still young enough to want to make a name for himself.
 

From footballscoop.com, "Mississippi State AD Scott Stricklin said this morning that he wants to be "smart, aggressive, and competitive" in keeping Dan Mullen in Starkville."

Seems obvious but I'm just throwing it out there.
 

Tricks said:
From footballscoop.com, "Mississippi State AD Scott Stricklin said this morning that he wants to be "smart, aggressive, and competitive" in keeping Dan Mullen in Starkville."

Seems obvious but I'm just throwing it out there.
Click to expand...

I look at this as a positive in two ways

1.The AD wouldn't be opening up his checkbook if this guy wasn't worth keeping

2.He also wouldn't be making statements like this if they weren't scared of losing him.

If it turns out that Mullen is the best candidate, I vote for a shock & awe strategy to get him up here. Make him an offer he can't refuse, and that MSU can't match. We may wind up overpaying by a few $100K, but how much has having a buffoon like Brewster as coach cost this program in revenue?
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom